Southwest Issues.

Institute Days

Are They Beneficial To Teachers?

Kindergarten Teachers Benefit From Sharing Their Ideas

When 1,500 kindergarten teachers gathered for two days at the Arlington Heights Hilton Conference Center in March, their days were not as easy as A, B, C.

The teachers began working at 7 a.m. and didn't finish until 9 p.m. They attended sessions on such topics as hands-on science, the use of manipulatives in mathematics and violence in the home.

The teachers were taking part in the 13th annual Kindergarten Conference sponsored by the Illinois Association for Supervision, Curriculum and Development, headquartered at Illinois State University in Normal.

"We could easily attract 2,500 to 3,000 teachers," said Karen Prudik, principal of Frankfort Square School in Frankfort and co-chair of the event. "Unfortunately, we just aren't up to handling that many teachers.

"It takes about 150 speakers per day and about 60 to 65 more volunteers to work at the conference," she said.

Prudik, along with Lucille Wiener and Judy Judy, both from Peotone, organized the first conference. It came out of the Peotone Project, a federally funded study in 1982 that dealt with early childhood education.

The first year, 200 teachers attended. The conference grew because of teachers' enthusiastic response, and some teachers return year after year. Suzanne Richardson, a kindergarten teacher at Palos West School in Palos Park, attended the first conference and has been back almost every year since.

"It has been wonderful to see it evolve," she said. "The main problem is every year more and more people come; it's hard for (organizers) to keep ahead."

She said parents should feel confident that teachers attending this conference are spending their time well.

"We learn many new ideas and innovative techniques," said this 24-year teaching veteran. "In speaking to peers, we find that we all really share the same thoughts about the importance of kindergarten."

Richardson said that conferring with one's peers from other districts leads to a rebirth of enthusiasm.